Slander | Teen Ink

Slander

April 7, 2016
By Mrs.Bandini SILVER, Tirane, Other
Mrs.Bandini SILVER, Tirane, Other
6 articles 0 photos 2 comments

I was about to walk into the classroom when I heard small voices talking, I could recognize one as Abigail, my best friend, but the other was as murky as water in a moat. “She’s so touchy and clingy!” Abigail said sighing, “The worst thing about it is she thinks I’m her best friend and she won't leave me alone!”
I could hear laughing and something inside me cracked. My former self had never known the sensation of betrayal, I was only ten, and as an innocent child I easily trusted anyone who acted as my friend. “Are you okay?” Sounded a voice behind me, but I didn’t dare look back.
“I’m fine.” I lied, gazing down, knowing that the tears were visible in my eyes.
I moved from the doorway and proceeded to my locker, and picked up my literature book. More of my peers began to fill the hallways, waiting for class to begin. Finally the bell rang and one by one we all take our seats in the classroom, Abigail sat next to me.
“Where were you? I was waiting for you but you never came.” Abigail said in a fake, sad, tone. I nodded, pretending to be absorbed in my reading. I wasn’t going to stand around people who made me feel insecure. I remember making that promise, a promise that became my life.
I began distancing myself from Abigail, who was left with no one to take her anger out on. After two weeks her face grew bothered.Why? I thought you didn’t want me to be clingy anymore.
Eventually our friendship, if you can call it so, became nothing but a distant memory I wished I could forget. My sadness eventually turned into anger and I saw people in a different way, no longer trusting the words they said, since most were already lacking in action.
Soon after, a new girl showed up in our old classroom. Everyone was enthusiastic to finally have another girl in our dominating boy class. She was short like me, her hair was curly and blonde. One day she injured herself, I gladly offered to take her to the school nurse. She started talking to me. “I’m Emma, from Hawaii.” She said in a happy tone.
“I’m Anxhela, from Albania.” I say smiling at her.
“Albania? Where’s that?” Emma asked her face full of confusion.
“It’s in the Balkan region of Europe, north of Greece.” I explained.
“Huh?” Emma responded simply.
I shook my head. The familiarity was comforting and even though we only just met, it felt as if our friendship began to grow. Later that day, she told me stories about her childhood, the good and the bad. I learned that she was an honest person who valued loyalty as much as I did.
Finally having someone else's company, I distanced myself more and more from  Abigail. Her jealousy grew, and I couldn’t understand why. She knew what she had done but I seemed to feel more sorry for her sitting alone than she did because she hurt me.  As I walked down the hallway hand in hand with Emma, Abigail gave me dirty looks but it didn’t hurt me. I had no emotional connection or any other connection to her apart from the past. 
Days turned into months and eventually I came to know Emma as my best friend, she proved to be a great one. Abigail came up to be one day and pushed me, “You don’t deserve to breathe the same air as me,” she said. Emma though was there to pick me up. The mean comments continued but at the end of the day my closest friend was always around to cheer me up. I was grateful I had one person I could trust.
As soon as the events began they ended, but something happened that I never thought possible, Abigail begged me to forgive her. Every time she talked to me though, I would only walk away leaving her hanging. She could not fix the person she had broken.
“I’m sorry.” She said multiple times but words just don’t turn time around. She would beg for forgiveness but I didn’t trust her, her words didn’t seem believable.
I learned that people will never be good enough for you to trust them without knowing what they hide beneath their smiling features. Valuable lessons are learned when you’re young, you learn that people aren’t who they say they are and they don’t always feel the way they say they do. Betrayal is a strong word, followed by strong emotions, but it teaches valuable lessons in life.


The author's comments:

A small child learns about betrayal.


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on Apr. 11 2016 at 2:37 am
photography731 GOLD, Tirana, Other
10 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
It's the things we love most, that destroy us.

This is a really good piece. I love the description and it's very relatable. I look forward to your other articles.